There’s so much reporting and analysis and commentary and such on a tiny portion of the press conference that’s it really is hard to get to the base detail. Should Trump apologize, not apologize, clarify?
(CNS News) President Trump’s press conference remarks in Helsinki are drawing fire from Democrats and Republicans at home, but one thing he did not do publicly was announce any concessions or tempering of administration policies that have arguably been tougher on Russia than those of his predecessors.
While Trump is being harshly criticized for his response to questions about President Vladimir Putin’s denials of meddling in the 2016 election, there were no indications of a softening in key areas of foreign policy differences – relating to Ukraine, Syria, Iran and ballistic missile defense in Europe.
“What Donald Trump says and what his administration does are not necessarily things that are closely related,†Danielle Pletka, senior vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, told the BBC after the summit.
She said the Trump administration “has in fact been very aggressive in pushing sanctions against Russian bad economic actors, Russian intelligence actors and others … who have played a bad role on the international stage.â€
Pletka pushed back on the charge that Trump had raised little in public about Russian malfeasances.
“That’s the kind of accusation that I find the least sympathetic,†she said. “The Obama administration was completely indifferent to the suffering of the Syrian people, including when Russia got involved,†she said. “The Obama administration was completely uninterested in defending Crimea from Russia.â€
She goes on to talk about the “moral equivalence”
"I think that the United States has been foolish. I think that we've both been foolish…I think we're all to blame."
Pres. Trump says he holds "both countries responsible" for the decline of US-Russia relations: https://t.co/qqjx7ZrZt2 pic.twitter.com/JCacxv9XDj
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 16, 2018
Let’s not forget that the Obama administration, while Hillary Clinton was Sec of State, attempted to interfere in Russian elections, as well as Israel elections, Brexit, and others during Obama’s time in office.
One has to wonder if this was a planned statement from Trump, or an off the cuff gaffe? If people think Trump doesn’t plan almost everything using a giant SMART action plan (even down to things like screwing with Lefties on Twitter, up to intentional misspellings), you’d be wrong. And, while it’s important to consider the silly statement, also consider the full transcript of the post meeting statement
As president, I cannot make decisions on foreign policy in a futile effort to appease partisan critics, or the media, or Democrats who want to do nothing but resist and obstruct.
Constructive dialogue between the United States and Russia afford the opportunity to open new pathways toward peace and stability in our world. I would rather take a political risk in pursuit of peace than to risk peace in pursuit of politics. As president, I will always put what is best for America and what is best for the American people.
Yeah, you should be upset about his answer to the question, but you should also consider everything else. And, don’t forget, most Democrats and media folks had zero problem with Obama’s cozy relationship with Iran, and all the money and stuff Obama gave them. Even Rand Paul is referring to Trump Derangement Syndrome regarding the over the top responses to the whole meeting.
